A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to a decade.
Higher Court Case
Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.
A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.
The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.
“We hope the panel will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”
Case History
Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.
Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.
The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.
Evidence Presented
The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.
Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”
The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.
The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.
Accused's Testimony
The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”
Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”
Victim's Response
Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”
The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”
Legal Commentary
The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your situation.”
The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”
Sie said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”
Defendant's Background
Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.
He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.
